California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ribbed reporters, threw a dig at Meg Whitman — and got sentimental about his seven years in office Wednesday — in his final address to the Sacramento Press Club before leaving office next month.

Schwarzenegger drew laughs when he opened his talk to the club’s Gridiron Dinner — an annual benefit for journalism scholarships — by saying he was “probably the second most famous immigrant in the history of California.”

“The first,”he deadpanned, “is Meg Whitman’s maid.”

Here’s our Chronicle/SFGate.com Shaky Hand Productions capture of that joke, and a few more:

The governor was accompanied by First Lady Maria Shriver and his chief of staff Susan Kennedy, and sat with Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado during the packed event, where there was plenty of gossip and some great skits about the Governator and all things CAH-LEE-FOR-NYA.

Schwarzenegger affectionately congratulated State Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg — he called him “Schteiny” — after the crowd heard this take-off of “My Way” from the Democratic legislator:

But getting serious, Schwarzenegger — in an era in which many politicians are slamming the media — thanked Capitol beat reporters for covering issues, uncovering scandals and mismanagement, and following the details of important events like the budget crisis, even, when he didn’t always like their stories.

“While I was living it, you were actually living with me,” he told reporters, recalling how many of them braved all-night budget meetings at the Capitol to get the details for their readers and viewers. Even emerging at 6 a.m. from such sessions, he laughed, he found them “out there drinking wine and eating cold pizzas” to cover the story.

From welcoming the troops home from Iraq to bill signings, he said the reporters were there “for the days of great celebration and great joy…sorrow and tragedy,” the highs and the lows.

The governor appeared to get a little choked up when he said that through it all, “there has been no greater honor than serving the people of California…it has been a great pleasure and a great privilege to serve these times with you.”

Here’s the Shaky Hand with some of his talk:

We’ll post more gossip and tidbits from the great evening later today.